THE VIEW FROM MY CORNER OF THE NEWSROOM

Do you know Dan Ellis? You should. He’s a hockey player who’s trouble on Twitter can teach the rest of us some important lessons about social media and the importance of understanding your audience.

More than a sports story

Ellis is a goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning, whose tweets have been much discussed in the sports world, but they should be just as interesting to folks who care about communication strategy.

It all started when he tweeted about the way the NHL’s labor agreement holds a large part of players’ salaries in escrow. It’s a complicated issue that was guaranteed to come across poorly in 140 characters. And it did.

I didn’t take long before he was called a whiny millionaire. And as word spread online, he quickly became the new poster child for ungrateful athletes who shouldn’t complain when they’re getting paid to play a kids’ game. DanEllisProblems even became one of Twitter’s trending topics.

The ensuing tweetathon set off passionate debates about the NHL’s labor situation, the fairness of the escrow deal, athletes as ingrates, transparency in online communication, and cyberbullying. All are worth discussing, but I’d like to focus on something that’s simple and universal, the importance of understanding your audience.

Should have know better

I realize celebrities get ridiculous amounts of positive feedback from their starry-eyed fans, but those fans have no interest in hearing about players’ money woes. Never have, never will. I’ve been covering sports for more than 25 years, and fans almost always side with owners against players, and mock any player who thinks he should be getting paid more – no matter how reasonable the concern, no matter how well it’s explained.

I often talk about The Golden Rule of Communication – that the most important part of any message is the receiver – and in this case, the reaction of these receivers was remarkably predictable. In fact, Ellis’ audience was not only guaranteed to disagree with his statements, it was highly likely to mock him, argue with him, and trash his reputation.

So, why didn’t he see it coming? How could he tweet “Kind of bored today … what can I stir the pot about today?” without realizing the consequences? Either he was totally disarmed by the positive echo chamber of athlete-fan communications, or he wasn’t properly trained. Probably both.

Tools are not strategy

Ellis was actually considered a pioneer among jocks on Twitter. He had 12,000 followers, and was known for open interaction with his fans. But knowing how to tweet is far different than knowing what to tweet – or why. Just ask any company that’s trusted its social media to a cool kid who seems to know what he’s doing. Or ask Kevin Love, who had his own brush with Twitter immortality when he tweeted about Timberwolves coach Kevin McHale getting fired – before the team announced the move. It became a cautionary tale for athletes in all sports, and drove Love off Twitter altogether. The same scenario – the cautionary tale and the exit from Twitter – is playing out with Ellis.

Like many businesses, most teams are run by people who don’t quite understand social media. They realize there are opportunities available on these new channels, but they’re concerned about the impact of open communication. As a result, they provide little , if any, social media training for their athletes. Agents also see the potential of social media, so they’re also encouraging their players to “get social,” but since they’re also new to the game, most of the training still comes from college friends and personal experience.

Send everybody to training camp

Players get plenty of media training, because teams realize their public comments are key components of their brand. Why not include social media? Those comments are just as public, and just as important. I got great reaction at the Social Media Breakfast when I said that “in TV we treat all microphones like they’re open, and I do the same thing with Twitter.” At the very least, teams should use that rule.

Social networks provide plenty of wonderful opportunities for players and teams to interact with their fans, but like all businesses, they must remember that information going out over these informal channels is just as official as anything else going out under their brand name. At least that’s how the audience is likely to see it. So, while transparency is a wonderful goal, it should always be balanced with common sense. We shouldn’t expect companies to air their dirty laundry, reveal key business strategies, or badmouth competitors online – unless it fits into some kind of well-thought strategy. We shouldn’t expect it from teams or athletes, either.

What else can we learn from athletes’ experiences in social media, and what business experiences are similar? I’d love to hear your thoughts.